Search Results: Gaza

I first saw Handala in a painting in the wretched Bourj al Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. In Palestine, Handala is loved and cherished as a symbol of steadfast resistance. But he transcends Palestine: he represents every suffering child.

The Australian Jewish News has condemned the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) for calling on Australians to boycott Israeli goods made in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. The NCCA is supporting a campaign of groups determined to act where western political leaders have failed. Leaders including Barack Obama, Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott refuse to acknowledge what they are backing when they declare they are ‘pro-Israel’.

Public conversation about the military actions of Israel is always
noisy and combative. Large statements of principle, contradictory
stories and ad hominem arguments make evaluation difficult. In reflecting on the events of the past week I found myself returning to my first visit to Israel over 30 years ago.

Turkey has condemned the attacks on a flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza as piracy. Branding activists as terrorists and denying the human
situation in Gaza will not help an Israeli cause that is proving increasingly
alienating.

Everyone progressive, liberal and leftwards breathed a sigh of relief at the end of two long Bush Administrations. I too share the hope for change from the Bush era. Sadly, Obama's not the change we're looking for.

The Republican Right's claim that Obama has yet to achieve anything is
a smokescreen for their rage, for Obama got this
award precisely because he is 'not Bush'. To speak a credible language of moral inspiration and hope to the world is an achievement in itself.

Benny Morris'
earlier concern with the Palestinian national narrative
has given way to an overarching concern with the promotion of the
Jewishness of Israel. This comes at the expense of Palestinian national
aspirations.

An old joke goes that if you understand Middle East politics, it has not been explained properly. This book places events in their
historical context, and illustrates why the conflict, with its religious and political dimensions, is so difficult to resolve.

Leaders of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians have been invited for peace talks in Washington. Rather than seeking to destroy Hamas, the US ought to encourage a unity government with Fatah, that would bring Hamas into the mainstream.

Memories of the Gaza war are likely to focus on the human
rights aspects of Israel's military conduct. Demographics could constitute a greater threat to Israel than
rockets or terrorism, and may be the wrench that breaks
the cycle of death and destruction.

Despite its offer of a ceasefire, it is doubtful that Israel has achieved its objectives in the Gaza Strip. The popular grievances that propelled Hamas onto the political stage in 2006 will continue to sustain it.